Favoring a Hidden Mistress? Engagement Broken-Chapter 97 - 89:

But the man on the bed showed no sign of stopping. Lu Ziyuan watched as the girl’s once vivid expression turned pale, and the hand that clung to his arm slowly relaxed, staring blankly at him.

Lu Ziyuan also noticed her change, glanced at her sideways, and frowned slightly, "What’s wrong, feeling unwell anywhere?"

Typically cold and stern, the man showed a rare glimpse of concern. The girl on the bed blinked, her delicate fingertips clutching the bedding, her lips moved stiffly.

"Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask you about that Rou Niang, but as the wedding approached, my brother forbade me from seeing you, and you never came to find me..."

Lu Ziyuan’s eyes never left her, watching as a hint of red surfaced in her eyes, feeling heartbroken.

He tried once more to return to his own body, stop saying those hurtful words, stop making her sad.

In his urgent desperation, he unexpectedly succeeded this time. He was no longer a wandering spirit; he could freely enter and exit his body, feeling this Lu Ziyuan’s emotions.

Yet, he was still merely an attaché, with no power to control the body.

He could only observe everything as an outsider, unable to attempt changing anything.

He could feel that this Lu Ziyuan’s heart wasn’t as calm as it appeared, yet he spoke indifferently, "Be more tolerant, Rou Niang’s background is humble. Even if she enters the house, she wouldn’t affect you. Don’t make things difficult for her."

The girl’s eyes widened in surprise for a long time before she finally responded with a soft "oh," and in an even softer voice asked, "Do you like her?"

After asking, she seemed to realize she had asked a foolish question, hurriedly saying, "Forget it, no need to answer, let’s sleep."

She turned away, presenting her thin, frail back, but he only looked at her for a while before slowly closing his eyes.

Fool, why don’t you comfort her!

Lu Ziyuan had never felt so powerless. He thought of that night in the brightly lit bridal chamber, his Wanwan said she grew up cherished by parents and siblings, and she couldn’t bear much grievance.

Yet in those days when she loved him, he didn’t cherish her at all and recklessly taught her to compromise.

It was their wedding night, and they had only just consummated, yet he proposed to bring another woman into the house in a couple of days, to take her as a concubine.

What a scoundrel!

Lu Ziyuan desperately sought to seize control of his body, but it was all in vain. He could only be a bystander unable to interfere.

The bridal silk for the new bride hadn’t been taken down when Liu Manrou successfully entered the mansion.

Xie Wanqing was the heir’s wife of the main household, while Liu Manrou entered as a concubine of the second household, so naturally, she was not required to perform the concubine’s ceremony of serving tea to the heir’s wife of the main household.

The servants in the mansion gossiped privately that the heir truly cherished the mistress, feared she’d suffer under the main wife, and thus arranged for her to be taken into the second household.

Liu Manrou certainly wouldn’t suffer; she was from Second Madam Lu’s household. Initially, the second household’s lineage was cut off, and the nephew’s proactive acceptance of a concubine into the household implied intention for lineage continuation.

Second Madam Lu was, of course, overjoyed, treating Liu Manrou as her own daughter-in-law, hoping for her to soon bear a child to continue the second household’s lineage.

She got her wish quickly.

Less than half a month after entering the mansion, Liu Manrou was diagnosed as pregnant, carrying not just the second household’s offspring, but also the first grandchild of the entire Lu Family.

For the sparsely populated Lu Family, this was practically a universally celebrated joyous occasion.

The servants were adept at gauging the wind’s direction. The concubine’s courtyard grew livelier by the day, whereas Xie Wanqing’s rightful courtyards as the Marquis Mansion’s heir’s wife appeared somewhat deserted by comparison.

Lu Ziyuan accompanied her, observing everything as if riding past a flower garden, seeing her listen to the servants’ gossip from the inner courtyard, the light in her eyes gradually fading, feeling his teeth nearly gritting to pieces.

Yet, the other self remained oblivious to it all. Post-marriage, he still resided in the outer court library, periodically visiting the inner court, often arriving by night.

With a cold, distant face, he never uttered a gentle word, yet Xie Wanqing would greet him with a bright smile every time she saw him, holding onto his arm, chatting about the day’s activities and plans for tomorrow.

The man had no patience for these detailed trivialities.

Often, before she could say much, he’d press his lips to hers, pinning her beneath him on the bed.

Clothes were undone piece by piece.

He was like a king inspecting his domain, marking her porcelain-like skin with faint red traces.